Windows 10 may still be rolling out to users and yet, the new OS from Microsoft has already attracted a lot of attention because of its privacy controls.
So far, one BitTorrent tracker has already blocked Windows 10 users from accessing torrent material from its website. iTS, along with a number of other torrent tracking sites, believes that Windows 10 has a built-in piracy kill switch which has definitely kept them worried.
According to the staffers at iTS, Windows 10 is being banned because of the way the OS shares an extensive amount of data with Microsoft.
"Unfortunately Microsoft decided to revoke any kind of data protection and submit whatever they can gather to not only themselves but also others," says a staff at iTS. "One of those is one of the largest anti-piracy company called MarkMonitor."
MarkMonitor is a brand protection firm which also has some involvement with the U.S. Copyright Alert System. The company is said to be working with Microsoft for several years now.
Apart from iTS, tracker operators FSC and BB are also considering banning Windows 10.
"What's particularly nasty is that apparently it sends the results of local searches to a well-known anti-piracy company directly so as soon as you have one known p2p or scene release on your local disk...BAM!," writes BB to its users.
FSC (Fun Sharing Community) tells its users that it will surely ban those who come to its website using the Windows 10 route.
"As we all know, Microsoft recently released Windows 10. You as a member should know that we as a site are thinking about banning the OS from FSC. That would mean you cannot use the site with the OS installed," FSC says.
The position of these several torrent tracking sites seem to have stemmed largely from a clause in Microsoft's services and privacy agreements page. Microsoft states, "We may automatically check your version of the software and download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices."
Other privacy concerns on the new OS from Microsoft focus on the impression that even if users lock down the privacy settings of Windows 10, the OS will still continue transmitting some data to Microsoft.
Pirate Bay, known as the biggest BitTorrent site in the world, has yet to express its insight over the issue.
Todd A. Bishop | Flickr
